Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The scorching sun is burning the vast Gobi Desert in the Western Regions.

The golden tent of the Scorpion King's Court sparkled in the sun, and the Scorpion warriors guarding outside the tent held scimitars in their hands with solemn expressions.

Inside the tent, the Scorpion Khan Ashinamo sat on a tiger-skin throne, holding a secret letter from the Tang Emperor Li Shiming in his hand, his eyes deep.

He looked around at the tribal leaders in the tent and slowly said, "Everyone, this is a letter from the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to this Khan. He said that if we cooperate with them in attacking the border, they will sell us food. What do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, General Gongsun Yi snorted coldly and strode forward, his armor clanging.

"Khan, the Tang Dynasty is completely insincere! If they really wanted to cooperate with us, why would they sell it to us? They could just give it to us!"

"This is just an excuse for not sending troops!"

His voice boomed, echoing through the tent. "Now that the Chu army has annihilated a 150,000-man Han-Wei coalition, the Tang army is desperate, and only now is thinking of us, the Scorpion Tribe! But they're unwilling to show even a shred of sincerity, only willing to sell us grain as a condition. How ridiculous!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a lot of discussion in the tent.

Tuoba Lie, leader of the Red Scorpion tribe, slammed the table and stood up. "General Gongsun is right! We currently purchase all our food from the State of Chu. If we agree to the Tang Dynasty's demands, what will we do if the State of Chu cuts off our food supply?"

Helian Xiong, leader of the Black Scorpion Tribe, echoed, "Yes, Khan! The Chu State is now so powerful that they have annihilated even the Han and Wei coalition forces. If we rashly cooperate with the Tang Dynasty, we will probably bring disaster upon ourselves!"

Ashina Mo frowned, tapping the armrests of the throne with his fingers. His eyes swept over everyone and finally fell on Ashina Yuanji, who had been silent all the time.

His most trusted counselor, who is also his cousin, is currently closing his eyes in deep thought, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

"Yuan Ji, what do you think?" Ashinamo asked in a deep voice.

Ashina Yuanji slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp: "Khan, we can't afford to offend either the Tang Dynasty or the Chu State."

He stood up and walked to the center of the tent: "But we can... not offend either side."

"Oh?" Ashinamo raised an eyebrow: "Tell me in detail."

Ashina Yuanji smiled slightly and said, "We can agree to the Tang Dynasty's request on the surface and pretend to attack the border, but secretly inform the Chu Emperor Chu Ning of this matter."

"In this way, we can avoid offending the Tang Dynasty while also showing goodwill to the Chu State."

Gongsun Yi frowned, "But if the Tang Dynasty finds out about our double-dealing, wouldn't that be even worse?"

Ashina Yuanji shook his head. "The Tang Dynasty is currently preoccupied with its own affairs. They just want an excuse not to send troops. They don't really care whether we actually attack or not."

"If the Chu State knew that we were secretly helping them, they would be grateful to us."

Upon hearing this, all the leaders in the tent nodded in agreement.

Ashinamo pondered for a moment, then finally slammed the table and said, "Okay! Let's follow Yuan Ji's plan!"

He looked at Ashina Yuanji and said, "You should write a letter to the Emperor of Chu and explain this matter yourself."

Ashina Yuanji accepted the order and immediately took out pen and ink, wrote a secret letter and handed it to Ashina Mo for review.

The letter detailed Li Shiming's intentions and indicated that the Scorpion Clan was willing to secretly cooperate with the Chu State rather than actually attack the border.

After reading it, Ashinamo nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, I will send this letter by carrier pigeon and have it delivered to Chu Ning as soon as possible!"

A few days later, outside Yuling City, the Chu army camp.

Chu Ning sat in the commander's tent, holding the secret letter he had just received from the Scorpion Clan in his hand. After reading it, he couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"What a jerk Li Shiming! It turns out he didn't want to send troops at all, so he asked the Scorpion Tribe to play along!"

Advisor Jia Yu took the letter, read it carefully, and smiled: "Your Majesty, if the Tang Dynasty does not send troops, and the Han Dynasty has just been severely damaged by our army, the Wei Kingdom will be completely isolated and helpless!"

Zhao Yu, standing aside, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, in this case, can our army capture Yuling City as soon as possible?"

Chu Ning's eyes turned cold, he slowly stood up and walked to the sand table in the tent.

On the sand table, the model of Yuling City was marked with red silk, and the surrounding area was densely populated with small flags representing the Chu army.

"I've rested for most of the month. Now it's June, and it's time to get started."

Chu Ning's lips curled up into a cold smile: "Order, the entire army will rest for a day, and the day after tomorrow - attack the city!"

All the generals in the tent responded in unison, their fighting spirit high.

At the same time, the Scorpion Clan's carrier pigeons not only delivered the message to the Chu army camp, but also quietly flew to the border of the Tang Dynasty.

However, no one noticed that a black falcon was circling in the sky, its sharp eyes locked on the carrier pigeon.

In the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the fourth prince Li Ge had quietly left the capital and headed straight for the northwest border with his personal guards.

His eyes burned with fighting spirit, and he had only one thought in his mind: "If my father is unwilling to send troops, then I will fight for the Tang Dynasty!"

Behind him, several guards looked at each other in confusion. Finally, the guard captain, Wang Hu, could not help but step forward, clasped his fists and whispered:

"Your Highness, is it inappropriate for you to leave Chang'an alone? Should we send someone to inform His Majesty?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ge scoffed and waved his whip casually: "I'm just going to the front line to take a look, why are you so nervous?"

He looked towards the north, a confident smile on his face. "Besides, with the military god Li Jing at the front, there's no need to worry about my safety."

Wang Hu frowned, still worried: "Your Highness, the Chu State Emperor Chu Ning has always been cunning and scheming, and is definitely not someone who can be easily dealt with."

"If not for this, how could General Li Jing, with his ability, be blocked at Falling Moon Slope for several months, unable to advance an inch?"

Li Ge snorted coldly, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes: "It is precisely because of this that I must go!"

He tightened the reins, and the horse stamped its hooves nervously. "Although General Li Jing is strong, he may be lacking a breakthrough man."

"This time, I am going to help him break through the Falling Moon Slope!"

Wang Hu wanted to persuade him again: "Your Highness, the battlefield is dangerous. What if..."

"enough!"

Li Ge turned around suddenly, his eyes as sharp as a knife: "My king has made up his mind, stop making noise!"

His tone was cold and full of unquestionable majesty: "If you dare to say anything more, you will be punished by military law!"

Wang Hu froze all over, and finally he could only bow his head deeply, gritting his teeth and saying, "I obey your command."

Li Ge then withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, kicked the horse's belly, and the warhorse neighed and galloped away.

Amidst the flying dust, his figure quickly disappeared at the end of the official road.

Wang Hu stood there, looking at the direction where Li Ge was going away, his fists clenched unconsciously.

He murmured in a low voice: "Your Highness, you underestimate Chu Ning too much."

But before he could finish his words, they were blown away by the wind.

He sighed, turned around and waved to the guards behind him: "No one is allowed to tell anyone about what happened today. Hurry and catch up."

The personal guards looked at each other, and finally could only silently ride their horses to catch up.

They knew that the Fourth Prince was always stubborn, and once he made a decision, no one could dissuade him.

However, no one dared to think deeply about whether this trip would lead to success or disaster.

At this time, Li Ge was riding his horse at full speed, with great passion in his heart.

He didn't care about the concerns of his personal soldiers at all, his mind was full of plans for the war on the front line.

He believed that with his own talents and Li Jing's commanding ability, they would be able to break the deadlock and make the Tang Dynasty's cavalry invincible!

"Chun Ning?"

He sneered, "You're just a clown who won by chance. When I get to the front lines, I'll show you the true art of war!"

The night wind howled, as if responding to his bold words.